New Britain Education Budget Increase Sought

Proposal Calls For 6.87 Percent More

January 28, 1997|By MATTHEW HAY BROWN; Courant Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN — School Superintendent James Rhinesmith is proposing an early literacy program, foreign language instruction for eighth-graders and a school-based police in a budget that would increase current spending by 6.87 percent.

Rhinesmith presented a $70,749,296 school budget proposal for 1997-98 to the board of education Monday. The board voted without comment to accept the budget; it will hold a public hearing and begin a line-by-line review of the document next week.

Fixed costs -- contractual obligations, contracted services and other expenses now beyond the district's control -- account for $68.97 million, or 97.5 percent of the budget. The remaining $1.77 million includes instructional supplies, textbooks and equipment.

The early literacy program for first- and second- graders would help younger children adjust to school. New Britain lags behind the state average percentage of students from preschool and nursery school programs and has more than five times the average percentage of students from non-English-speaking homes.

The middle school foreign language program would begin with eighth-grade instruction in Spanish or French. Rhinesmith said the district would hire teachers, already needed simply to address projected enrollment increases, who are certified in both languages.

The city approved funding for a schools resource police officer to work with children and provide a police presence last year, but the board voted against putting an officer in the schools. The proposal appears again in the 1997-98 spending proposal.

The board hearing and budget workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at the board meeting room at One Liberty Square. A second session, if necessary, would be held the following evening. The board ultimately will vote on a budget to send to the city finance director, who will recommend a budget to the board of finance and taxation, which will recommend a budget to the common council.